Monroe, NC v. FFRF

Watch for Updates

Originally Posted February 17, 2024

by Robert Baty

Link to FaceBook Post Illustrated Below:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1726281810993551/posts/3596765133945200

Link to FFRF Letter Illustrated Below:

http://kehvrlb.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Note-to-Monroe-City-Council-from-FFRF.pdf

Time marked link to Jonathan DeVore’s prayer of December 12, 2023 as referenced in the above FFRF letter:

https://www.youtube.com/live/PwImds4PjUQ?si=DK-TJenpuH8acodR&t=270

Time marked link to Zach Kerns’ prayer of January 18, 2024:

https://www.youtube.com/live/OSiW-K8sZKg?si=ILZYxpTR6O-FtXdg&t=465

Time marked link to Tim Cruse’s prayer of February 13, 2024 as referenced in the above FFRF letter:

https://www.youtube.com/live/wmN26WlUJDw?si=u3EUThPMpbt7H3JH&t=650

Link to “gospel choir” performance before the Monroe City Council, mentioned in the FFRF letter above, as preserved in a stand-alone video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgBrRSKivqU

Select comments from the FaceBook page/group/thread referenced at the top of this article (not all comments may be publicly viewable):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1726281810993551/posts/3596765133945200

Rumor has it that in the super-secret FaceBook group using the name “What’s Up Monroe!” there are a lot of the righteous people of Union County bad-mouthing the FFRF and those who support their position reflected above.

Link to the group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatsupmonroe

“Anonymous Member”, not me, posted a copy of the FFRF letter in the “What’s Up Monroe!” group noted above. Someone using the account name “Devin William Butcher” wrote:

“Anonymous member, goto hell like the good little heathen you are.”

and

“Anonymous member, you fucking terrorist.”

Jordan Gibson wrote:

“People have nothing better to do than focus on this. Definitely need to get God back in charge of Monroe and all political environments.”

Anonymous Member responded to Jordan Gibson with:

“Selfish thought. Your God isn’t the only God, so ‘No’.”

Celeste Long countered with:

“Yes, He is!”

Annette Braswell Jackson wrote to Anonymous Member, in part:

“If you don’t want to listen, then just don’t go there or walk out and come back. If I don’t want to see cross-dressers, I don’t participate in East Frank activities. Applying a broad brush that only you agree with is doing the same thing you hate about Christians.”

Sandra Allen writes:

“Please, Please, Please! Do not allow the craziness of the woke opinions of one person (aka Anonymous Member) to dictate what is woefully apparent to everyone else. Our county, our state, our country NEEDS GOD right now more than ever. Our constitutional rights as citizens of this country as a whole should far outweigh the voice of one (aka Anonymous Member). Pray, and pray hard.”

In defense, Anonymous Member responded with:

“NO religion in Monroe unless ALL religions are recognized in Monroe. It’s a purely simple concept, but you Christians have your heads up your own asses.”

and

“How dare we want equal for all.”

Jordan Gibson adds:

“Just so glad I don’t have to live in a Satan, liberal LGBTQ driven town!”

Sara Fraker responded to Jordan Gibson:

“That’s a lot of hate in your heart.”

Devin William Butcher responded to Sara Fraker with:

“You must have picked up this interpretation from your woke special ed teacher during drag-time story hour. Stay in your lane clown.”

and

“No one read what you think you read. Smoke less next time. Thinking isn’t your strength.”

Devin William Butcher to Anonymous Member:

“You have no point.”

and

“Our religion is why you are safe, period. Why would morality matter to you? Right. Wrong. Without God these are meaningless. If these are meaningless, why would we value life. I doubt you do. Why would laws matter. They wouldn’t. If you subvert what is right and wrong, there is no more civility, which inevitably leads to chaos. You want that. I see you. You are not unique. You are not special. You mean to bring unrest to our homes. Climb back in your hole.”

Devin William Butcher wrote to Jeanie Hooper:

“Hush, you ignorant swine.”

and

“I reject everything you are.”

Douglas Little wrote to Kara Murphy:

“Being a citizen of the United States, we have the right to pray wherever and whenever we want. I especially love the 2nd Amendment.”

Devin William Butcher to Jeanie Hooper again:

“Judeo-Christian are the blockade that prevents this evil (Islamists) from entering this land. You are a useless fool.”

Christa Helms wrote to Anonymous Member:

“Get your butt out of Monroe and go pray to whatever God you choose. Most of us here still pray to our God. Who is also your God.”

Devin William Butcher wrote:

“We are encountering a Marxist who wishes to absolve religion from our community. They/them have a religion. They/them just don’t call it such. This is how they/them skirt the separation of church & state. It’s the religion of deceit. You do not tolerate these people, full stop, in any way, shape, or form. You shout them down, and drown them out like the worthless worms they are. I’ll ask Jesus for forgiveness when my community is safe.”

Devin William Butcher writes to Ambre’ Shields:

“This person (Anonymous Member) is attacking your core beliefs. The correct response is not to debate or civil discourse. You cannot win an argument with a Marxist because they/them never had a stance to begin with; all gaslighting and zero substance. It’s just whatever you believe in they/them want to destroy and take from you. It’s all attack. That’s it. If everyone responds like you, they/them win. This is a modern day holy war. If you think it’s not, you just wait. By the end of 2025, 1 in 35 people will be brand new immigrants from every corner of the globe. Massive numbers of fighting age men from countries whose charters specifically call for our destruction. Religion binds us. They/them want to break it so we are easier to break. This is not a game. It is existential.”

and

“This (Anonymous Member) is not a person. It is a representative of an evil movement that wants to defile our children. It’s already happened. That’s why the evil symps are shrieking. They did drag-time story hour, did something stupid, their woke base downtown is about to be destroyed. They want to try and tie that to the mayor, when the original act of grown adults in lingerie grinding their genitals in front of children should have been the thing to lock them up and throw away the key in the first place.”

______________________________________

Link to Hemant Mehta video regarding the situation in Tavares, FL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bybpHdNlqwQ

Hemant is a well-known atheist activist (aka Friendly Atheist) and has a substantial following on social media.

The Tavares people are planning an event for the next Tavares City Council meeting wherein they will ask the Council for an explanation and apology regarding what happened regarding Joseph Richardson. Link to event scheduled for February 21, 2024:

https://www.facebook.com/events/642227864640357

Update February 18, 2024

Devin William Butcher posted the following on his personal FaceBook with reference to the FFRF letter to the Monroe City Council which he included with his post.

https://www.facebook.com/dwbutcher/posts/pfbid02pa4hG12eh2K69gTEkxQfk8wjcgK43boNv5ZYkbF6p9KGPTds9f3XuxdSCnh6qc1vl

Lisa D. Kimmel is one of the regulars speaking at Monroe, NC City Council meetings, with a anti-drag show hobby. She is closely allied with the mayor and The Montana 7. She currently has publicly displayed on her personal FaceBook page the following exchange:

https://www.facebook.com/lisa.kimmer/posts/pfbid0xXNMhHvqZ6rPQf74N884Y6oZYrxW4xb4J3eezNbYsowK1ioxzebpBrVepqzrh5ypl

Update February 21, 2024

The FFRF published an article today at the following about the Monroe, NC situation:

https://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/43433-no-religious-city-council-meetings-ffrf-insists-to-n-c-town

The FFRF also had a brief post about the matter on its FaceBook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/4ffrf/posts/pfbid0Vs4gsRZCHhjAUV5sGW1fG1nK2nc4FuPdsmPjL9hfDGZ4eNGb5FRA3sXrT1gBLpyjl

Update February 25, 2024

Some Twitter action today at Robert Burns’ account at:

https://twitter.com/RobertBurns82/status/1761239201318580273

Update March 15, 2024

The next Monroe, NC City Council meeting was held this evening. I have been told they had an invocation, but it was not included in the recorded meeting broadcast via its YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACew6UiVbCU

Update March 16, 2024

I’ve now been advised the invocation was “off-camera” because the Council was thinking if they had it before the “official” meeting it didn’t count. The person giving the invocation was, reportedly, from Shiloh Baptist Church.

Update March 27, 2024

Hemant Mehta has posted a blog entry at the following link regarding a similar story developing out of Colorado:

https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/after-ruining-a-school-district-christians